Blog Archives - The EdTech Roundup

Seesaw: The Learning Journal Gives Parents a Personalized Window Into TheirChild’s School Day. (Now Updated!)

1/25/2015

San Francisco, CA, January 26, 2015 - Every day, millions of school children come home and tell their parents that they did “nothing” in school today. Of course this isn’t ever true, but it’s often difficult for young children to share what they’ve learned at school, or for parents to know a more specific question to ask. See the bottom of this post for the new app updates!

Available today for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, SeesawTM is a learning journal that empowers students as young as five to independently capture what they are learning at school with photos, videos, and their voice. Parents are notified (via text message, email, or the Seesaw Parent app) when new items are added, and can immediately see and hear what their child did at school that day.

Quick Key Mobile Adds ‘Pro’ App to Extend Benefits of Digital

1/25/2015

Enhanced app eliminates hand-grading, gives access to real-time data and
enables teachers to scan assignments for greater number of students

BOSTON (Jan. 22, 2015) – The popular mobile assessment software that made tedious and time-consuming hand-grading and data analysis a thing of the past just got better. Quick Key Mobile today released its Pro version, a robust mobile app and Web dashboard that expands upon the features of its beta predecessor and offers unlimited mobile scanning for teachers.

Created by a veteran educator who was bound by restrictions of a paper-based classroom, Quick Key Pro helps teachers improve student performance without teaching to the test.

Download Quick Key Pro by visiting http://get.quickkeyapp.com.

New EdTech Resource | Chalkup: Learning Together, Learning Better

1/25/2015

Author: Chalkup Staff

On Tuesday Chalkup pushed out the latest version of their innovative class collaboration platform. The freemium LMS has bulked up on fan-favorite features and added a few new bells and whistles that are worth talking about. Here’s what you need to know before we dig deeper: in only a year Chalkup has gained massive respect among those who know (and love/tolerate) LMS platforms.

The user experience is all about collaboration -- less emphasis on “learning management,” per se. We’re talking lots of tools that encourage resource-sharing and keeping discussions going among students after they leave the classroom.

New EdTech Resource | Three Little Pigs: Star Tale - Interactive Fairy Tales for Kid

1/22/2015

A new part of the Star Tale fairy tale app series.
The story is a classic tale with teaching about the value of hard work.

Star Tale is unique in its development process, collaborating with professional artists and authors. Each app in the series has its own distinct illustration style . The illustrator for "Three Little Pigs," created paper artwork to liven up the classic tale. The developers for this app believe that the best picture books offer illustrations that are as much part of the experience as the written text.

Remind Releases Spanish-Language Version to App Stores

1/22/2015

Connecting Spanish-Speaking and Bilingual Teachers,
Students, and Parents is Urgent Need in Education

SAN FRANCISCO, January 21, 2015 – Remind, the secure mobile communication product for teachers, students and parents, launched a Spanish-language version which is now available across all platforms: iOS, Android, web, and SMS.
As the Hispanic population in the U.S. grows1, so does the number of bilingual households.

More than 35 million Hispanics speak Spanish at home, in addition to a second language.2 Remind seeks to improve communication between those bilingual households and educators by introducing the app in Spanish.

Guest Post: Common Core Alignment and EdTech: How to Choose a Children's Reading App

1/17/2015

Author: Deborah Neisuler of FarFaria

With lofty demands from the Common Core State Standards, Language Arts proficiency needs to be a priority both in the classroom and at home. Most K-2 teachers require reading at school; whether it be during library visits, centers time, or during free choice. In addition, most K-2 students are required to read at home for a minimum of 15 minutes a day.

As technology becomes more prevalent in US classrooms, tablets are often used to facilitate in-class reading time. At the same time, tablets are also becoming commonplace in students’ home.

This raises the question for parents and teachers, alike: How do I choose the best children’s reading app? With so many available, how do you determine what qualities to look for when choosing an app for reading at school and at home?

Guest Post: The Intel Compute Stick's Future in Education

1/17/2015

Author: Tony Saxby, Technical Consultant at CSE Education

Could this be a possible future for schools computing? Intel announced the Intel Compute Stick, a fully functional Windows 8.1 PC HDMI dongle for $150 (just over £100).
Based on a quad core Intel Atom processor, 2 GB or memory and 32 GB of eMMC solid state storage. It also supports Bluetooth for keyboard and mouse, a micro SD card for expansion and Wireless that supports IEEE 802.11 b\g\n standards.

Kiko Labs Unveils New Neuroscience-Based App for Children to Challenge Critical Skills Every Child Needs for School Success

1/15/2015

Through Adaptive Play Sessions, Kiko’s Thinking Time Does for the
Preschool Brain What Exercise Does for the Preschool Body

SAN CARLOS, Calif. – January 15, 2015 – Kiko Labs, alongside neuroscientists, today announced Kiko’s Thinking Time for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, a unique adaptive suite of games for children based on neuropsychological exercises to challenge the foundational skills needed for school success. By playing the app, children exercise critical skills like executive functions and reasoning in fun workouts.

LEGO® Education Enhances StoryStarter Offerings with Three Expansion Sets

1/14/2015

Curriculum Packs Improve Students’ Skills of Conducting Research,
Interpreting Findings, and Documenting Stories

BILLUND, Denmark–January 13, 2015 – Today, LEGO® Education announced three new StoryStarter Expansion Sets to enable students to create rich, detailed stories and reports. The Expansion Sets are to be combined with the StoryStarter Core Set, Curriculum Pack, and StoryVisualizer software, providing many additional lessons and opportunities for exploring a variety of writing styles.

All three of the StoryStarter Expansion Sets have curriculum packs that invite students to delve deeper into the specific genre or theme. The curriculum includes: